1. Field of the invention
This invention relates in general to telecommunication towers and in particular to a support for mounting an antenna to an electrical power utility tower.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The growing popularity of cellular telephones has greatly increased the need for towers for transmitting and receiving antennas. Communication towers normally are special purpose structures supported by guide wires or by tapered legs. In the new cellular phone telephone market, the towers do not have to be extremely high, nevertheless, construction is a problem. New towers will be needed in densely populated areas, often only one to five miles apart from each other. A new tower requires an extensive permit process and often zoning changes. Residential neighborhoods do not want such towers in their neighborhoods even if they are not very high.
Electrical power distribution towers have long been present. The towers which are used to carry high voltage are normally made of steel and have four or more legs connected by lattice braces. These towers have heights which typically run 80 to 105 feet, thus would be adequately high enough for mounting a communication antenna. Also, the towers have adequate lateral strength to resist bending and excessive swaying due to the weight of the wires and wind. However, the towers are normally built to a very close specification as to compressive loads. Typically the tower will be designed to handle only the requisite load and will collapse if any appreciable weight is added. An antenna assembly would typically weight about 1500 pounds. This amount would often exceed the rating of the tower for compressive loads.